Thunderstorms
by xhellogoodbyegirl116x
Summary: Joey sat in his apartment wondering how everything had changed so quickly. How had his friends forgotten about him? How had he lost the love of his life? But that knock at the door could change anything. Phoebe.Joey, Chandler.Rachel [post The Last One]
1. Chapter 1

Had it been that long? Was he that alone? It sure seemed like it.

Ever since everyone left, he felt like his world had been ripped apart at the seams. They had all said it was going to be the same, just in different places, but it wasn't. Only he knew that. If only they had listened to him for once.

Maybe if they realized that Joey Tribbiani wasn't as stupid as he seemed. Joey wasn't exactly a genius, but he knew what he was talking about when he felt strongly about it, and he felt powerfully about his friends.

As he sat at the counter in his apartment drinking a beer, he wondered how good they actually were now. Was it really worth it to give up everything? Didn't they realize how good they had it before, when they were one big group?

Monica and Chandler were so happy with their life together that they had forgotten about everyone. He hadn't seen them in almost a month. Erica and Jack were adorable children, but Monica and Chandler had changed after having children. It was almost as if they had forgotten the people they once were. They were in love with each other and in love with their children that they had forgotten about everything that they had promised Joey. There were no visits from them. Joey didn't get to go visit them because they were always busy. But worst of all, the room that was meant for him has been turned into a play room. It was like they didn't remember him.

Rachel and Ross moved to a larger apartment. They were engaged, getting married in the summer. Emma was growing up as well. They were so absorbed in being devoted to each other and with their daughter that he barely saw them. It was almost as if were afraid that what happened before Rachel left was going to happen any day now. They were afraid that they were going to lose each other by some strange occurrence that they felt they needed to spend every minute of every day with each other. He could expect a visit from them about every month or so.

And then there was Phoebe. Joey dropped his head as he thought about her. The sunshine in his dark sky. She was the only who seemed to care about him. She was the only one who remembered that Joey was the one who didn't have anyone. Every night, she would call him. And she would stay on the phone for however long he wanted her to. They would talk about random things some times. But by her doing that, it made feel like he was important, and it made him feel like it was old times again. She took this time out her married life to make sure he was okay. She was happily in love, just like the others, but she still cared. If only he had told her…

All of them always said to him, "You'll find someone." He didn't want just _someone_. He'd been in love. There'd been Kathy, Janine, Charlie, and eventually Rachel. None of the girls he had been with now came even close to these girls.. He had tried so hard to fall in love with anyone he could find. But whoever he tried to click with wasn't right for him. After seeing what he could've had, he didn't want anything else.

As he got up from the chair and placed the beer bottle in the sink, he wondered if he would spend his life wondering _what if _and thinking _I should have_. His life seemed like if was turning into one big regret.

He sighed staring out the window. The rain seemed to come down in sheets. Thunder crackled in the sky as the lightening lit up the sky. It seemed as Mother Nature was feeling the same way he was.

He had a good living. He was on _Days of Our Lives_, for God's sakes. He had a social life, he had friends. How could he just let them all slip away without putting up a fight?

He looked to the TV. It didn't appeal to him. It hadn't appealed to him since Chandler left. And then once Rachel left. There was no one to discuss things with. Life had lost its interest.

As he began to walk to his bedroom, he heard a banging on his door. He turned slowly. Who could want to talk to him at 10:30 at night? He shrugged, figuring they had the wrong house.

As he didn't bother to look through the peephole and just swung the door open, he felt his heart stop for the figure standing there. "Phoebe…" he gasped.

He had never seen her like this before. She shivering uncontrollably as she soaked. Her hair hung down in her face as she looked up at him with harshly blank eyes. "He's gone," she mumbled.

"Who's gone? Pheebs, what's wrong?" he coaxed. He felt his heart shatter for the pitiful woman standing in front of him.

"Mike. He left me," she answered curtly, still no emotion in her expression. There was a slight pause before she continued. I came home today, and found him packing a suitcase. When I asked him where he was going, he said 'Out', and laughed. Usually, I just would've dropped it, but that just wasn't like Mike. I asked him what was going on, and he just started to laugh. He told me he was in love, and it wasn't with me. He said he no longer loved me. I asked him who it was, and all he said was Regina Phlange before he began to laugh more," she stated quietly.

He didn't say anything. All he could think to do was to wrap his arms around her, which was what he did. He held onto her and didn't want to let her go. She began to cry into his shoulder. And they stood in the doorway like that for a while, feeling loved once more.

Once she pulled away from him, he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Alright, let's get you cleaned up," Joey said.

Phoebe shook her head. "No. No, I have to go home. I don't want to be a bother. I just wanted to come and see you," she responded, trying to cover up her lie.

"Phoebe, it's almost eleven. It's pouring rain, and you're extremely upset. I don't want to send you home," Joey answered. "Please stay. I want you to."

Phoebe looked at him. He smiled back. "Okay. If it's not that big of a deal," she muttered. She ran her hand through her matted hair.

"A big deal? Please, it would be my pleasure," he replied with a smile as he ushered her into the house before shutting the door.

* * *

While Joey sat on the couch listening to the hum of the shower, he wondered how in the world this had happened. How could a woman like Phoebe, who was beautiful, intelligent, quirky, sweet, compassionate, and fun to be around, be dumped like a discarded piece of trash? Joey seethed as he thought about Mike. He remembered when he threatened Mike about ever hurting Phoebe. God he wished he kept that promise. 

It was just so difficult to see her. She had always been so upbeat. Seeing Phoebe sad was like seeing the world ending. She had wanted someone to love her. That was all she wanted for most of her life. Why couldn't she meet someone that could just make such a wonderful woman happy?

"Hey," she said quietly as she walked out of his bathroom in his sweatpants and a t-shirt. Her damp hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. She was glowing. He just wanting to go and tell her everything. But he knew he couldn't. He turned and motioned silently for her to come sit down next to him.

She curled up to the left of him. She ran her fingers up and down her leg absentmindedly as she stared at the floor. He watched her as she spaced out. Her eyes focused on the floor so hard as if it were going to get up and start to dance.

"How could he? What did I do wrong?" she asked as she turned to Joey. "Was I somehow not a good enough person? Didn't I do enough?"

Joey opened his mouth as he tried to think of words to say to her. "Phoebe, don't ever think that you aren't good enough for anyone. Mike was a jerk. You're amazing, he just didn't realize the true beauty of that," Joey answered.

Phoebe pulled her feet under her and laid her head on Joey's shoulder. "But I loved Mike with all of my heart, Joey. He was my whole world. If I couldn't manage to stay in love and manage to remain in the one long-term relationship I've ever had, how can I know that I will ever have one again?" she mumbled into his shoulder.

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him. "You just have to believe that that one day, you'll meet a man who will be there when you need him. And you'll love him more than you ever loved Mike. And if you work your charms on him, you won't have to worry about the relationship part, because he'll love you as much as you love him," he replied.

Phoebe couldn't believe what was coming out of Joey's mouth. It was so intelligent, so passionate. She could tell that he wanted her to be happy. And right now, that was all she wanted: happiness. She looked up at Joey as he continued to talk. She tried not to listen to what her head was saying to her, but what her heart was saying was drowning it out.

"You'll know it when you find your someone. He'll be the one you run to when things get rough in your life," he continued. As he thought about the last line, he wished he hadn't said it.

Phoebe froze at the last line, lifting her head. She stared at him for a moment. He took his eyes off her. "What did you mean by that?"

"Nothing. It didn't mean anything. Forget I said it," he responded. He got off the couch and began to pace. How could he let that slip out so easily?

Phoebe jumped off the couch. "Well, it obviously did mean something because there has to be some reason for why you said it. Joey, why did you say that? Is something wrong? Are you trying to say something to me?" she exclaimed, showing the most life he had seen tonight. She stormed over to him so that she was looking him in the face.

Joey didn't say anything. He just gave her a sorry look. What happened next would never make sense to Joey.

Phoebe grabbed his face in her smooth hands She pushed her lips onto his. He kissed her back. It was what he had wanted for so long but had been too scared to say.

He pulled back after a few minutes. "Wait, why are you doing this?" he asked uncomfortably with his trademark uncomfortable smile.

"Because you and I both want it, don't we?" she answered, shaking her head. He smiled before resuming.

* * *

When Phoebe woke up in the middle of the night, she was wrapped in Joey's protective arms, along with a thin sheet. 

This was what she wanted. This was happiness. She had found her someone. She didn't need to go back to what had happened with Mike, or why he left. She was in love now.

"Why are you awake so early?" Joey asked sleepily. The small alarm clock next to Joey's bed was flashing 4:57.

"Oh, just thinking about things," she mumbled as she turned to face Joey. He smiled at her.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked her as he grabbed her hand in his.

She nodded. "Thanks to you."

Joey felt his cheeks redden. "Erm, Pheebs, listen, there's something I've wanted to say to you for a really long time," he muttered, hoping it was the right time for this.

Her face became serious. "Anything. What is it?"

"Well, ever since the whole gang went our separate ways, I realized that I made a huge mistake. And I could never let myself let it go until I got over it," Joey paused.

Phoebe placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Joey, just tell me. What was this mistake you made?"

"That I never should have let you go," he replied. "Phoebe, I-what I'm trying to say, I guess, is that I love you."

Phoebe was silent. Not good for Joey.

"I knew I shouldn't have said anything," Joey said, turning over.

"No," Phoebe answered simply.

"No what?" Joey asked.

"Don't be upset. I'm glad you did. Joey, I have always loved you. Always. I just could never bring myself to tell you," Phoebe muttered.

"So, that means…" Joey asked, a smile growing on his face.

"Yeah, I guess that's what it means," Phoebe said. And for the first time that night, she smiled.

* * *

**blech. corny. feedback please.**


	2. Chapter 2

**wowie. i honestly wasn't expecting this many reviews. anyway, i'm hoping that whoever is reading this is a bit of a chander/rachel fan too, because i'm going to go back in time a little in the story. i just wrote the first chapter as a one shot, but decided it might be a good story if i continued it. well, we'll see.**

* * *

**Two Months Earlier**

Chandler sat in the local bar that was on his way home from work. The TVs were humming something about football that he didn't understand, the bartender was hitting on a young girl who was underage, and the lights kept flickering, most likely due to an unpaid electricity bill. As he downed his second beer, he wondered how much longer he could stay here before Monica would begin to call him asking him where he was.

Glancing at the cell phone he never wanted but Monica insisted he have in case of emergency, he saw that it was going on 7. Monica was going to kill him.

What else was new about that? Ever since they adopted the twins, she had changed. They were basically her life. She was being the mother and the father at the same time. When he wanted to be with her, he couldn't. She needed to be with them. She was their mother (as if he didn't know that). She needed to spend time with them, every single moment. And when he wanted to see Jack and Erica, he couldn't. She was their mommy. They wanted and needed spend the time with their mommy, not their daddy.

It was just so frustrating. There were two things that he loved in his life, and she was taking away both of them. There were a lot of days where he didn't look forward to going home like many dads with little kids. He felt like a mean father, but that was the truth.

Placing the empty mug on the counter, he sighed, knowing he'd have to face it sooner or later. What had happened? What had caused everything to go so wrong? How had she stayed so in check before?

"Chandler," a voice said quietly as he began to turn around. He knew that voice.

"Rachel? What are you doing here?" he muttered, staring at the blond in front of him.

"Your wife sent me out to look for you. If you haven't remembered, Ross and I were supposed to come over with Emma tonight. It's Jack and Erica's birthday…Are you drunk?" she asked bluntly, placing her hands on her hips and staring at him.

"No!" he defended, raising his arms in defense. As she still remained in that position, he realized she wasn't kidding. "Why would you say something like that?" his voice becoming all high-pitched, like it usually did when he was nervous.

"Chandler, it's your kids' birthday. You don't remember it?" she said as she sat down on the stool next to him and ordered a rum and diet coke.

His head dropped. "I know. I'm a terrible father. I-I just don't connect with them in the way I should."

"Well, sitting in a bar when you should be at home isn't going to help that problem, is it?" she replied as she took a sip of her drink. He smiled. "You know I'm right," she continued, with a small chuckle.

"So how are you? I haven't seen you in such a long time," Chandler said to her.

She placed her beverage back on the counter and played with the straw. "Work is pretty good. Emma is as wonderful as ever. And Ross is…Ross," Rachel said, rolling her eyes at the last part.

Chandler chuckled at the last part. "That's a good term to describe him as. 'Yes, that's Ross. Oh, he's a paleontologist. What do I think of him? He's very…Ross."

Rachel, hit him slightly. "You know what I mean. But enough about me. How are you? How's Monica and the twins?"

As Rachel saw Chandler's features begin to fade, she knew that the answers to come were not going to be good.

"Chandler, what's going on? What's wrong?"

He was silent for a moment, not sure if he should tell Rachel what was truly happening. Not sure who's side she would take.

"I love Monica and I always will. You of all people should know that. But I guess what it is is that that's a bit of a rift forming between us. I hate to say it, but I think we're drifting apart," Chandler sighed, avoiding Rachel's eyes in case she was upset by this.

Rachel didn't say anything as she twirled the straw in her drink. "What makes you say this?" she asked quietly.

Chandler glanced at her. The look in her eyes was extremely upset. "She isn't my Monica anymore. She's changed The other day, I put a drink down on the table, no coaster. She was sitting right next to me holding Jack, and she didn't say a word. It didn't bother her in the least bit. It made me feel like I'm living with a different woman than I married. Especially- especially the other day, I picked up the phone to call Joey. Monica was on the phone in the other room. Well, I didn't know this. As I picked it up I heard another man's voice on the line…She was talking to Richard."

Rachel gasped at the last part. "Are you postivie?" she whispered.

Chandler rolled his eyes. "Unless she knows someone else named Richard, I think it was him."

Rachel looked at him in awe. "I don't believe it. I just don't believe it."

Chandler nodded in agreement. The two sat there in silence before Rachel jumped, making Chandler jump as well. "Oh my God, I totally forgot. Monica's waiting for us to come back. We have to get back or she'll flip out on us!" Rachel squealed as threw some money down on the counter.

Grabbing Chandler's hand, she pulled him off the bar stool and out of the bar. Chandler hated to admit it, but he hadn't had this much fun in a long time.

As they attempt to tag down a taxi, Chandler muttered "How are we going to explain this to Monica?"

Rachel chuckled as she looked over her shoulder at him. "She's your wife. It's your job…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow. I still honestly cannot believe how many reviews I have gotten for this story so far. Getting reviews is like getting a present to me. :) They make me happy. Anyways, chapter 3 right here. I love the direction that this story is going in. I don't know if I'm the only that sees it and because it's my story, but I could totally see this as a Friends movie if they wanted to piss off all those canon shippers… Rachel.Chandler, Phoebe.Joey, maybe even some Monica.Richard; they'd be getting some hate mail from all those people who love the normal couples. :)

* * *

**

Chandler and Rachel snuck into the house Monica and Chandler shared as quietly as they could. For Chandler, the house seemed like it was too big now. He missed the familiarity of the apartment, how he could just take a few steps and find Monica. Whenever he needed to talk to Monica now, he felt like he needed to shout across the whole house. Having a humongous house wasn't for him, as well as having a detached wife who was most likely cheating on him. It left him feeling lonely, like he had when he was a child.

"Rachel, Chandler, there you are! Where were you guys?" Ross exclaimed as her embraced Rachel. "Monica was so…worried," he said, trying to sound as truthful as possible as he motioned to an obviously unaffected Monica.

As Chandler looked over at his wife, he saw that she didn't even acknowledge his presence. She was too busy chatting with friends from work and playing with the twins. Beaming, she would laugh and toss her head. No look his way.

Rachel saw the slump in Chandler's posture. Placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing, she whispered to him, "I'm sure everything is going to be fine. Come on, this is your day too."

"Hey guys!!" Joey said as he came through the front door, his usual smile plastered on his face. Inside, this house made him feel sick. It reminded him of how different things were. No matter how many times they tried to assure him that things were still the same, they weren't. Joey Tribbiani was not an idiot. He went from seeing his best friends every days, to seeing them once a month if he was lucky.

"Hey Joe," the other three chorused back. Monica, as they all expected, realized it was Joey, and didn't respond.

"So how are things Joey?" Rachel said as she handed him a beer. The four of them were crowded in the kitchen. Rachel bit the inside of her cheek. No matter how much she wanted to admit that everything with Monica was perfectly fine, she knew it wasn't. Here was her husband, her brother, and two of her best friends in the kitchen out of sight of the party. And it didn't even matter to her.

"I guess they're okay. Leigh dumped me," he replied with a shrug of his shoulder as he swigged his beer.

The three chorused their pities for him in the ways they always did for their friends when relationships didn't work out. It had almost gotten automatic at some points, especially with Joey. Joey was known as a player, but every one of them knew Joey secretly wanted love. And yet he couldn't find it.

"I don't know, she just said I wasn't the one for her. What kind of answer is that?" Joey said shaking his head. Leigh Monroe was one of the prettiest women he had been with in a long time. She was beautiful, intelligent, witty, and a nurse. He was in love with her. And he still couldn't get her to fall in love with him.

"Hey man, you'll find her, she's probably right there-" Chandler said before being cut off.

"Hi guys!" an overly loud cheery voice chirped. Joey turned quicker than all of them, knowing that voice all too well.

"Hey Pheebs!!" he exclaimed as he enveloped her in a hug, but still not trying to make a scene.

"Phoebe, where's Mike?" Ross asked as Phoebe closed the door behind her.

"Oh, he's not coming tonight. He thinks he's coming down with something, and he figured that if he is, it's best not to be around little kids," she said trying to keep a smile on her face but it was obvious that she was upset. After a few moments of silence, her expression changed and she smiled. "So, where's Jack and Emily?" she sang as headed into the large cluster of people that surrounded Monica with a misshapen package under her arm, despite the warnings from the others.

"MONICA!!" she yelled out, attracting the attention of everyone in the room, especially the hostess, who sprung to her feet.

Clearing her throat, she put a trademark annoyed smile on her face. "Phoebe."

"Hi Monica, how are you? I haven't seen you in a year."

"Phoebe, we can catch up later, I'm talking to my friends from work…" Monica snapped, crossing her arms. Rachel, Ross, Joey and Chandler watched in amazement to this woman's reactions.

"Monica, you see these people every day. We haven't seen you in months…" Phoebe said as she motioned to the other four.

"Chandler saw me this morning," Monica retorted.

"Besides Chandler!" Phoebe exclaimed "You mean you would rather talk to the people you see five days a week, eight hours a day…averaging you've seen them, oh, I don't know, 124800 more minutes than you've seen me in the past year. But that's okay, who am I to judge?" Phoebe muttered as she walked over to the two infants in the playpen. She placed the gift in front of them. "Here you go, if you're Mommy will let you play with it." Phoebe then grabbed her coat and made her way for the door without a word.

Monica sighed loudly. "What is it, anyway?"

"It's a stuffed elephant my mother gave to me the birthday before she died. I brought with me everywhere. I figured since you were my first real friend after I got off the street, I could give it to your kids. Maybe I was wrong."

And with a slam of the door, she was gone.

* * *

"Oh, Chandler, don't give me that bullshit," Monica said as she paced back and forth. Chandler and she stood in their bedroom as Ross, Rachel, and Joey waited in the family room. After the episode between Phoebe and Rachel, most of the guests decided it was best to leave.

"Monica, you were complete out of line! How could you say something like that to Phoebe?" Chandler said, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"I'll just call her and apologize, say the moment got to me. I'll smooth everything over in the morning."

Chandler laughed. "This is unbelievable! You don't even realize what you did. Monica, that wasn't just some random person off the street. That. Was. Phoebe. Your best friend for years. And you just ripped her apart in front of everyone like it was nothing. Now, you're just making up an apology like it's nothing. You don't get it Monica. You can't go around saying stuff like that."

"I can do whatever I want Chandler. You're not my mother, and you certainly don't tell me what to do," she responded as she broke free of his grasp.

Meanwhile, there was another argument going on right outside their door.

"You can't not believe that Monica hasn't changed a little bit?" Rachel accused Ross as the two stood in front of the TV.

"I don't. I still think that she's that same Monica that she was a year ago when she moved out of the apartment," Ross defended.

"Come on Ross. Think back to a year ago. You can see Monica yelling at Phoebe like she did earlier?" Joey said from the couch.

Ross shook his head in disbelief. "No, I won't listen. Monica's my sister. She wouldn't do something like this unless she had specific reasoning for it. Guys, she's our friend. She wouldn't do something to intentionally hurt us."

Rachel walked up to him and took his hands. "Ross, please. You saw her today. She's not the same. Besides, when I found chandler today," Rachel lowered her voice, "he told me that he believe that Monica may be seeing another man." Joey perked up from his spot on the couch.

Ross pulled away from Rachel. "What?" he whispered. "You-you can't be serious."

Rachel nodded. "Chandler thinks that she's seeing Richard."

Ross' eyes became even bigger.

"Are you serious?" Joey asked. Rachel nodded, her eyes not leaving Ross.

"Ross, you have to believe me. Chandler wouldn't lie about something like this," Rachel coaxed. Seeing that Ross was still shocked by this, she squeezed his shoulders. "This is your choice, Ross. The evidence is for you to interpret. Do you side with your sister, or your best friend for almost fifteen years?"

* * *

**So is it just me or does Monica totally seem like a bitch in this story?**

**I'm not trying to do this intentionally. Honestly. I'm doing Monica how I see her. Which is a selfish control-freak. I just don't like Monica. It's kinda obvious now though.**

**Anyway, tell me what you think of it so far. What I'm trying to do with this story is show that everything wasn't as peachy keen as they portrayed. Nobody lives like that. Sorry. **


	4. Chapter 4

**(frowning) I guess I should be happy that I'm getting reviews and everything, but I'm a little…taken aback. I'm happy that people are taking the time to read my story and everything. But I'm not perfect…When I write this, I don't think about every single possible thing that could be happening. It's just a piece of literature. I write it to be creative, not to be completely accurate. I want to hear what you think, just don't be so harsh I guess…**

**Anyway, I'm thrilled with the way this is going. Trouble is definitely brewing in the Bing residence… :)**

* * *

Ross sat on the couch in their living room apartment with his head in his hands as Rachel brought him a cup of coffee. Looking at her fiancée, her heart twisted in pity.

She placed the cup on the table in front of him and sat down beside him. Wrapping an arm around him she pulled him close.

"I – I just can't believe this. What's going on with her? Why would she do that?" Ross said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Rachel didn't know what to say, for she had no idea either. For the first time tonight, she saw the dark side of her best friend. Rachel figured she hadn't meant to go off at Phoebe like that, but just the tone in Monica's voice paired with what Phoebe was saying…

And what Chandler told her this morning, she couldn't shake it out of her head. She knew Monica always had a penchant for older men, but after she was married? Richard was in his fifties…but Monica was in her forties now. It didn't matter to her when she was 28, then it wouldn't matter to her now.

"I don't know, honey. She must – have a lot on her mind," Rachel muttered as she patted Ross' shoulder.

Ross picked up his head with an 'are you kidding me' look.

Rachel shrugged. "Well Ross? What do you want me to say? Your sister was a complete bitch tonight? Fine. Monica was a bitch."

Ross chuckled as he grabbed the coffee mug. "You're so cynical in situations like this."

"I have to be. If not, our whole house would be Gloom City," she replied laying her head on his shoulder, smiling. They sat like that for a few moments.

"I'm going to go to bed. Oh. Don't forget, tomorrow we're going through all our memoir stuff," Racehl reminded Ross as she stood up.

With a loud groan, Ross whined, "Aw, why do we have to do this?"

Rachel smiled. "Ross. We are getting married in four months, remember? Now, we already have Emma. But if you want to have more room, for say, a new baby," Rachel said as she wrapped her arms around him, "we have to clean some stuff out."

Ross eyes widened at the 'B-word'. "So is this an invitation Ms. Green?"

Rachel laughed. "Depends on what your answer is, Mr. Gellar." A smile grew on his face. Before Rachel knew it, she was being pulled to the bedroom.

The next morning Rachel dropped Emma off reluctantly at Monica's. Chandler answered the door.

"Hey Rach. Come on in." He ushered her in with a wave of his hand and a small smile.

She came in, Emma still glued to her side. As soon as she walked into the kitchen a mug of hot coffee was pushed into her hand. Chandler gave her a small nod.

She laughed to herself as she winked back at him and sipped it. "You are good Mr. Bing. One and half Splenda."

"You know, just another one of my many talents."

"So, how is she?" Rachel whispered to him as she leaned back against the counter.

Chandler shrugged. "You know, she seemed okay this morning. She called Phoebe and left a message."

You're positive about her and Richard though?" Rachel questioned.

Chandler placed his mug down. "I'd recognize his voice anywhere Rachel. You of all people should know that. I couldn't sleep very well last night, so I laid there and thought about it."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Chandler? Being philosophical?"

"Ha ha ha. Very funny. Seriously. The thing that kept Richard and Monica apart mostly, was the fact that she wanted to have children and he didn't. She wanted to physically have children with him. She can't have children. I can't have children. So, harsh as it sounds, I've served my purpose for her…"

"Chandler! Don't say that!" Rachel said with such horror in her voice.

He sighed. "Doesn't it make sense though? Think about it."

And as Rachel drove home from their house, she did nothing but that.

* * *

When Rachel and Ross sat in their apartment going through things, the room was filled in laughter. Ross pulled out a large book. 

"Oh my god, that's my high school year book," Rachel said as she dropped her head into her hand.

Ross chuckled as he opened it. Ignoring the comments like: "Dear Rach- You are like my BFFL! Love Monica" "Rachel- I'll always love you. Forever, Chip" "Yo Cheerleader! Is it true about your wang?" Ross turned to the last page.

Rachel squinted at it. "I don't remember that one. Let me see it."

Grabbing it, she started to read. "Rachel, you are the sweetest person I've ever met. Your gentle heart and quirky personality are one of kind. I know we never got to talk much, but I know you'll do very well in life. I hope we get the chance to meet again. Sincerely: Ross Gellar"

Rachel was speechless for a moment as she closed the book. When she finally did speak, it was only a whisper. "When did you write this? I mean, you were already in college. Why were writing in some senior girls yearbook?"

"I found the book in Monica's bedroom. When I saw it was yours, I knew I needed to write something. I was just going to write 'Good Luck', but my pen did the talking. I put it back, and Monica gave it back to you," Ross said innocently.

"_You_ are the sweetest person I've ever met. I – I just can't seem to realize how I never noticed this before," she admitted as she placed the book in the pile to keep.

Ross grabbed a small brown leather bound book. On the cover said _2001_ in gold script letters.

"Rach, what's this?" he said as he unzipped the cover and began to flip through it.

She looked over at it. "…Oh. That's nothing. Throw it out."

"No, really, what is it?" he persisted.

"It's my old date book. It's junk. Throw it out," Rachel continued, her voice started to grow anxious.

He began flipping through the page. The were random appointments and date one certain pages. Then, on one day during a week in August, something caught his eye.

He stopped flipping and read closely. Looking at the other dates surrounding it, he felt his heart stop.

He slowly turned to Rachel, although it felt as if no part of his body was working. 'Just relax Ross. It could be nothing. It's nothing…but it could be exactly what you're thinking.'

He shoved the book right under her nose. "Mind telling me what THAT means?"

* * *

**OOOOO. What's happening between Ross and Rachel (grin) I love knowing what's going to happen.**

**Anyway, I know it's moving quickly, but I like stories that move quick. I think stories with too much character development and description and blah blah blah are boring. I like lots of dialogue and action. I have a lot to get in, and I don't want the story to be like 15-20 chapters.**

**oh, btw. i was youtubing (hahaha) the other day, and found some really good friends videos. check em out in my profile.**

**  
Review if you please!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**He began flipping through the pages. There were random appointments and dates on certain pages. Then, on one day during a week in August, something caught his eye.**_

_**He stopped flipping and read closely. Looking at the other dates surrounding it, he felt his heart stop.**_

_**He slowly turned to Rachel, although it felt as if no part of his body was working. 'Just relax Ross. It could be nothing. It's nothing…but it could be exactly what you're thinking.'**_

_**He shoved the book right under her nose. "Mind telling me what THAT means?"**_

* * *

_  
_Chandler stared at his ceiling, feeling abnormally lonely.

He turned to the pillow next to him, which would usually have his wife on it, but she wasn't there. She was attended a chef's festival in Albany until next Wednesday. Who knew chefs had festivals?

Tucking one arm under his pillow, Chandler turned over, looking out the window. He remember back over the past few years, when everything had been perfect, and yet they had left it all behind. They said they had wanted to move onto bigger and better things that were ahead, yet they were just selling themselves short of true happiness.

They were old now. They were everything they used to make fun of; self-absorbed in everyday life and too concerned over stupid vain things.

Monica had always been uptight about certain things, but now she never relaxed. He rarely heard her laugh anymore, and when she did now, it was heartless. Plus, if anyone was to dare speak to her about something she did wrong or didn't do at all, she'd no longer tease them; she'd give them was a hard glare and a cold remark.

Ross, he hated to admit it, sometimes went off the deep end. He was still Ross, as Chandler had put it, but sometimes he was _too _Ross_. _He'd joke a little too much, laugh a little too loud, try to be everybody's friend. And in the end, all he would end up doing was make more enemies. He tried to be cool, which Chandler had told him to NEVER do.

Phoebe. Glorious Phoebe. She was still the same as she was before, but the day she had blown up at Monica, Chandler saw something in her he had never seen in her before. He saw anger and hatred. Phoebe was becoming tough and irate, which she had never been before.

The same thing was happening with Joey. He was no longer as carefree as he had once been. Chandler knew his best friend better than anyone. The more Chandler saw of Joey now, the more he saw that Joey was upset. Joey was jealous of his friends' lives.

He was the worst. His wife was cheating on him under his own nose, and he couldn't even say anything about it. Chef festival? Even he wasn't that stupid to believe that…She used the same fucking excuse the time she and him went away so they could hook up without anyone knowing.

And then there was Rachel, the only one who hadn't changed a bit. The only one who still remained glowing and perky and happy after this year that had seemed like a decade. She still had her old principles and purposes. She was still Rachel.

As he began to doze off into a nightmare of flying chefs' hats staring at him, there was a loud knocking at his door. He shot up in his bed, looking around. When the knock came again, he pulled the blanket off of him and got out of bed. He walked through the house quietly, hoping he wouldn't wake the twins.

When he got to the door, he opened it right away, not thinking that it could be a murderous psycho or anything. Standing at his doorstep at 3 AM, shivering, was Rachel Green.

"Rachel, what happened?" Chandler said quietly, wondering what could've possibly happened to send this perfectly fine woman from Manhattan to the outer area of the Westchester, at 3 AM, without a coat or bag or anything.

She didn't reply. All she did was sniffle a few times and stare down at the cup of coffee Chandler had placed in front of her. He could see by the dim glow of the light over the sink that there were two tears rolling down her cheeks.

* * *

Sitting beside her at the table, he placed his hand onto hers. "Please, just…just tell me."

She turned to him, and cocked her head to the side a bit. "It's over."

His stomach dropped, already presuming that she meant the engagement. He opened his mouth and tried to say something, but his mouth had gone completely dry. Usually at this time, he'd come up with a witty remark to put a smile on her face, but the look in her eyes was a look he'd truly never seen before. Despair.

Rachel kept looking at him, realizing he was trying to string random stutters together to form words. "Ross – he's leaving me, Chandler."

Chandler's eyes grew even larger. How could a man who had been in love with a woman for almost two decades just suddenly break it off.

"I lied to him. God, I was so stupid. I should've just told him," she said to herself, glancing up at the ceiling, tears glistening in her eyes.

He grabbed her hands in his, encompassing them. Feeling the chill in her body and spirit, all he wanted was to make her better. "J-just tell me, Rach. It'll only help you."

As tears continued to fall down her cheeks in grayish black streaks with the remnants of her eyeliner, she opened her mouth, but then closed it. Shaking her head in a sort of disbelief, she began, "Ross and I were cleaning up the apartment today because the marriage and because we were planning to have another baby. We were cleaning out this box when Ross found a date book of mine from 2001. He began looking through it and asking me questions about it, not knowing my reasons for keeping it," she paused, swallowing and pulling her hands from Chandler's so that she could wipe away the moisture on her face. "He came to August of that month, and I must've doodled something that caught his eye. On August 3, 2001…oh God, you're the first person who's actually going to know this. On August 3rd, I celebrated Tag's 26th birthday. We had sex that night. On August 4th, I helped Ross with the invitations, which was also consummated by sex and the infamous video tape…"

Chandler looked extremely confused. "Yeah, we all saw the beginning of it. I – I don't understand what you're trying to tell me."

Rachel pulled her hands from Chandler's as her face grew somber. "Ross and I used a condom…Tag didn't have one."

It took a few moments for it to sink in with Chandler, but his eyes became wide as his jaw dropped. "No, no, no."

Rachel nodded, her face contorted in a tearful expression. "Supposedly in the date book I drew a big heart with an E in it around that day."

Chandler continued to shake his head as his stable world continued to crash down upon him. Placing his hands on his temples, he felt like he wasn't breathing anymore.

"Why?"

"I had to. That night I spent with Ross was amazing. It made me realize that I wanted to be with him forever in some way or another. If I told Tag he was Emma's father, Ross would have left me forever, as well as the rest of you thinking I was a whore."

"Rachel, we wouldn't have thought that…"

Her response was a raised eyebrow.

the two of them sat in silence for a good five minutes as she cried and he tried to get a grip on what was going on around him.

When she finally took a deep breath to calm her sobs, she looked around, almost in surprise. "Where's Mon?"

Chandler snorted. "You just realized now that she wasn't here? She's at a 'chef's festival' in Albany."

"Didn't she go to one of those before we found out-oh my god…" Rachel said quietly, a hand covering her mouth.

Chandler pursed his lips, not feeling like explaining his miseries to someone who was pretty much in the same boat as him. Besides, it seemed like she'd be living here, so they'd have plenty of time to talk about it.

He dropped his head. His life was so fucked up right now. His marriage was hanging on by a thread, he had to choose a side in the fight between his college roommate and his best female friend, his other ex-roommate was depressed, and the other female friend's husband was cheating on her without her knowing.

So much for being the funny guy.

* * *


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